India’s top 1% holds 60% of assets, still prefers real estate and gold: Bernstein

India’s total household wealth is estimated at $19.6 trillion, out of which $11.6 trillion, or 59 percent, is held by the Uber Rich

Around 60 percent of India’s wealthiest citizens’ assets are parked in real estate and gold, according to a new report by Bernstein, as cited by ANI. The report refers to this top wealth segment as the ‘Uber Rich’, a group that includes Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNI), High Net Worth Individuals (HNI) and the Affluent class.

Together, these high-income groups represent just 1 percent of Indian households, but control nearly 60 percent of the country’s total assets and 70 percent of its financial assets, the report said.

India’s total household wealth is estimated at $19.6 trillion, out of which $11.6 trillion, or 59 percent, is held by the Uber Rich, ANI reported.

Of this, only USD 2.7 trillion is invested in serviceable financial assets like mutual funds, equities, insurance, and bank or government deposits, financial instruments that can be actively managed or reallocated. This pool of capital is referred to as the Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) for wealth managers.

The rest, about $8.9 trillion, remains tied up in non-serviceable assets like physical real estate, gold, promoter equity, and cash holdings, the report added.

The report points to a significant business opportunity for wealth managers and investment advisors in India, especially as the affluent class begins to diversify away from traditional investments.

It highlights how this wealth segment remains largely underpenetrated by formal wealth management services, with a considerable portion of financial wealth unmanaged.

The findings also underscore a broader structural trend in India: while income inequality is high, wealth inequality is even starker, according to Bernstein’s analysis as reported by ANI.

“The top 1 percent earns 40 percent of all income, while the ‘Rest of India’ holds only a small fraction of both income and assets,” the report said.

Bernstein’s breakdown of the Uber Rich shows that India has:

• Around 35,000 UHNI households with net worths exceeding $12 million
• These households have average assets of $54 million, including $24 million in financial assets

Collectively, the Uber Rich command $4.5 trillion in financial assets, which amounts to 70 percent of the country’s total financial wealth